Background
Capital punishment, legalized killing by the state, has always been a deeply troublesome issue for religious and non-religious people alike.
Well-meaning people of faith weigh in on both sides of the debate. Some argue the death penalty deters crime and protects society. Others contend that it has not proven to be a deterrence, is biased against the poor and African Americans, and isn't something Jesus would "do." The death penalty is currently legal in 38 U.S. states.
The United Methodist Church, in its Social Principles, officially opposes capital punishment and urges its elimination from all criminal codes. The church's General Conference, a delegated body representing members around the world, meets every four years and is the only entity that can take official positions for the denomination. Those statements are included in the church's Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions. On many issues addressed by the church, individual members hold a wide range of viewpoints, including outright opposition to denomination policy.
The United Methodist Church has held it's position on the death penalty for 50 years. At the 1956 General Conference in Minneapolis, delegates first passed legislation that put the church officially on record as opposed to the death penalty.
Each Methodist and United Methodist General Conference since that time has reaffirmed its opposition to capital punishment.
—Excerpted from the articles below:
Where The United Methodist Church Stands
"We believe the death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore, and transform all human beings," the Social Principles statement says. While expressing concern about crime and the value of life taken by murder or homicide, delegates to the most recent General Conference in 2008 reaffirmed the church's position that "all human life is sacred and created by God." United Methodists are urged to see all human life as "significant and valuable." (Social Principles, ¶164 G, “The Death Penalty,” Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2008.)
When governments implement the death penalty the life of the convicted person is "devalued and all possibility of change in that person's life ends," the statement declares. "We believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that the possibility of reconciliation with Christ comes through repentance. This gift of reconciliation is offered to all individuals without exception and gives all life new dignity and sacredness." (Social Principles, ¶164 G, “The Death Penalty,” Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2008.)
The church is further convinced that capital punishment neither results in the net reduction of crime or in the number of homicides. Scientific studies, conducted over more than sixty years, overwhelmingly have failed to show that capital punishment deters homicide more effectively than imprisonment. (Book of Resolutions 2008, "In Opposition to Capital Punishment.")
According to 2007 statistics from Amnesty International, the countries performing the most executions are: China (470), Iran (317), Saudi Arabia (143), Pakistan (135), and the United States of America (42).
The number of death penalty sentences also falls disproportionately on marginalized persons, including the poor, uneducated, ethnic and religious minoritiies and those with mental or emotional illnesses. In the U.S. persons sentenced to death are usually convicted of murdering middle or upper class white persons, and are almost always unable to afford a lawyer. Moreover, standards for sentencing and applying the death penalty varies widely from country to country and among individual states in the U.S. (Book of Resolutions 2008, "In Opposition to Capital Punishment.")
The practice of executing child offenders remains a global problem and has been condemned in numerous human rights treaties. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for juveniles.
What We’re Doing in This World
The United Methodist Church cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking human life. It violates our deepest belief in God as the Creator and the Redeemer of humankind. In this respect, there can be no assertion that human life can be taken humanely by the state.
The resolution makes specific recommendations for action for individual members, congregations, and church-wide agencies:
- work in collaboration with other ecumenical and abolitionist groups for the abolition of the death penalty in those states which currently have capital punishment statutes, and against efforts to reinstate such statutes in those which do not;
- promote the work of United Methodists Against the Death Penalty in mobilizing United Methodists to the work of abolition;
- advocate against the death penalty to state governors, state and federal representatives;
- develop education materials on capital punishment; and
- oppose all executions through prayer and vigils.
—Book of Resolutions 2008, "In Opposition to Capital Punishment"
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